5. Push and Pull

Chapter 5. Push and Pull

Be still like a mountain and flow like a great
river. —Lao Tzu

What do bananas, text books, and beach sand have in common? No, it’s
not a joke, though the answer dwells in the borderlands between humor and
horror. We’re talking about ambient advertising , and it’s funny and fascinating, until it crosses
the line.

Originally known as fringe, buzz, stealth, or guerilla marketing,
ambient advertising has gone mainstream. Specialty agencies such as
Ambient Planet and Diabolical Liberties are helping to spread the word
into every nook and cranny imaginable. Beer mats, bar toilets, pizza
boxes, receipts, floors, cars, parks, and prescription pharmacy bags. Ads
lurking in the holes on golf courses. Commercials carved in sand. Logos
inscribed on foreheads. Everyday objects and nature itself are becoming
channels for push media.